Anderson was Sir Alex Ferguson's first signing as United manager when arriving from Arsenal.
"I always remember Bryan Robson saying to me, 'the only reason he bought you is because you stood up to Norman Whiteside when we were playing for Arsenal'," said Anderson to the Manchester Evening News.
"So he (Whiteside) got David Rocastle, who is sadly no longer with us, sent off in that game at Old Trafford. We were coming there on a run of 13 unbeaten games and we just got kicked from pillar to post and me and Norman had a little scuffle from time to time and (Ferguson) saw that I stood up to Norman, he was a big superstar at the time, and liked what he saw.
"He said he bought me because he saw what he saw that day (against Arsenal) and he looked at my record.
"I didn't miss many games over my career and he was very strong on that.
"He liked people that were going to be there week in, week out and subsequently, I get there and get injured and miss a lot of games so it doesn't always work out. People going to that club, the expectations are massive and you've got to embrace it or you fold."